Chapter 2 – The Invisible Man
Jekyll added his shout of surprise to those of Frankenstein and the werewolf. Dracula was the only man who did not scream, though he did utter a marvelous string of foreign curse words that Jekyll was incapable of understanding. Oddly, it was only Frankenstein's fair companion who did not react to the disembodied voice. She simply moved closer to Frankenstein's side and gently grabbed the sleeve of his jacket between her delicate fingers.
Frankenstein took no notice of her. Like Dracula and the werewolf, his eyes were scanning the room to find the source of the voice they'd just heard.
"Where are you?" Dracula demanded, his gaze shifting from one darkened corner of the hall to the next. "Show yourself immediately!"
"Uh, right. Love to help you out and all, but that does rather miss the point of being invisible, doesn't it?"
Jekyll puzzled over the voice. The man, whoever and wherever he was, had a sing-song way of speaking that made his accent difficult to place. Jekyll suspected that he, like the wolf man, was from America, but it was hard to tell without seeing the man behind the voice.
While the others occupied themselves with worry over where the voice originated from, Jekyll was more concerned as to when? After all, their small party had been conversing for quite a long time before this newcomer joined in. Had he been watching since Jekyll's arrival? Had he been waiting in the castle before anyone else, spying on them with each new arrival? Considering this option left Jekyll with goose-bumps. There was something decidedly creepy about being observed without one's knowledge.
"When did you get here, stranger?" Frankenstein asked, getting right to the heart of Jekyll's own questions.
"Oh no worries, I slipped in behind the wolf boy," the invisible man said. His tone of voice implied that he was very aware of just how unsettling his condition was to people. Actually, Jekyll thought he sounded rather pleased about it.
"And let me tell you, that was not a pleasant walk," he continued. "Speaking of, do you think we might move into another room? I think I smell a fire, and I would really appreciate warming up, if you catch my drift?"
"I'm afraid I don't," Dracula said. He had begun pacing the length of the hall slowly, his hands outstretched, searching for the source of the man's voice. Jekyll allowed himself a private smile, as he could tell from the rise and fall of the man's voice that he was moving around the room, casually avoiding such tactics.
"Well, think about it. Wolf Boy here just trekked the whole way in the rain with a big bulky coat and hiking boots - and he's still shivering! I made the same trip with considerably less protection…"
Dracula halted mid-step, "When you say less…"
"I mean I'm just flaunting what God gave me, brother."
Dracula's hands instantly dropped to his sides as he let loose another string of curses, this time in English so Jekyll was able to fully appreciate the extent of the vampire's creativity.
"Unacceptable," he said once his litany of colorful language had ceased, "I won't allow it. It's disgusting."
"Huh? What's the big deal?!" the invisible man cried out in protest, "There's nothing more natural than being nude! It's not disgusting at all! And anyway, it's not like anyone can see me."
"It's the principle of the thing," Dracula said decisively, "I don't like the idea of a man walking around my castle naked. Visible or invisible."
Frankenstein seemed to have finally awakened to the presence of the female at his side. He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and nodded in agreement. "I agree. In fact, the idea of you moving around like that without being noticed is even more of a concern."
"Gotta have a supply to meet the demand," said the invisible man. Jekyll detected a hint of amusement in his voice this time. "I travel light, ya get me? So unless Boy Wolf Wonder has an extra set of clothes he'd be willing to part with in that mountain of a backpack, I'd say we're all out of luck."
"Can't help you," the werewolf said with a frown, "Not unless you want to be as soaking wet as I am."
"S'all the same to me. I guess my bare butt will just have to remain as it is. Meanwhile, I think I spy a cozy looking armchair right by the fire in the next room, so if you gentlemen don't mind…"
"Wait!" Dracula demanded. Unable to look directly at the invisible man, his eyes were instead directed toward the nearest archway off the main hall. His frown deepened. He shut his eyes firmly and muttered something under his breath before heaving a great sigh. With eyes still closed, he said, "Please. I'll go get some extra clothes. Just… Don't sit anywhere. Will you all kindly wait in the den until I return?"
He managed to speak evenly, and even in a polite tone, but Jekyll could tell it with was with a great deal of reluctance that the words were spoken.
"There you go! Now you're acting like a proper host!" cried the invisible man.
Dracula's polite façade crumpled. It was quickly replaced by a sneer, "Don't push your luck. I still haven't decided if I'm going to kill you all or not. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Jekyll, feeling that there was safety in numbers, shouted at his retreating form, "While you're at it, a proper outfit for me as well?"
The vampire made a very rude gesture with his hand and continued walking. He didn't even bother to glance over his shoulder.
Jekyll ignored him. It was clear he couldn't expect any better behavior from Dracula. He turned to the werewolf boy instead, saying, "You ought to have asked him for some clothes as well. You'll catch cold as you are now."
The boy shook his head, "I'll be fine. Besides, judging from that response, I doubt he's the sort of person you can rely on."
Jekyll chuckled, "Perhaps you're right."
Frankenstein and his lady friend had already moved through the open archway separating the hall from the den. Jekyll assumed the invisible man was with them, though of course it was impossible to tell. Gesturing for the werewolf to go on ahead of him, Jekyll followed the others.
The vampire must have been occupying this room when Jekyll had arrived. A large fire was burning in a massive stone fireplace. An open book lay on a short wooden table right next to an armchair pulled close to the fireside. The rest of the room was furnished with a few antique sofas, their cushions sagging and faded, as well as several floor-to-ceiling shelves crammed with books. Once beautiful oriental carpets covered the hard stone floor, overlapping each other in several places. Where the walls were not covered in bookshelves, Jekyll spied a few small oil paintings, their images faded and dark.
Jekyll stepped carefully over some books that had slipped off the shelves to make a new home on the floor. Some of their bindings looked very old. Overall, there was a careless elegance to the furnishings in this room. There had probably been a time when many of these items had been worth a fortune, yet now they lay under an inch of dust, completely forgotten by their moody owner. The fire made things warm and comfortable, but Jekyll was ill at ease. The room reminded him strongly of his apartment in the aftermath of one of Hyde's visits.
The werewolf marched straight to the fireplace and removed his sopping jacket. The t-shirt underneath was soaked through as well, and so this item was also removed. While he busied himself laying out the clothes on the stone hearth to dry, Jekyll couldn't help but feel a little envious. He was itching to remove his own uncomfortably tight shirt, but one look at Frankenstein's female companion quickly steeled him against it. She still had not uttered a single word, but when she caught sight of the werewolf's bare skin, she blushed a deep shade of red and quickly lowered her head, her long blonde hair forming a veil over her face.
Jekyll felt instinctively protective of this woman. She seemed too innocent to be mixed up in a situation like this. He wondered what her connection to Dr. Frankenstein was, though he could hardly venture to ask. He just wished the wolf boy wouldn't make such a damn spectacle of himself.
The invisible man apparently had a different opinion of the matter. He smacked the werewolf's bare back with an audible clap. Jekyll could see the boy flinch under the force of the sudden blow.
"That's the spirit!" cried the disembodied voice, "Looks like I'm not the only nudist in the house!"
The wolf boy took a swing at the empty air, but he missed his mark. "You don't see me taking off my pants, do you?"
"Give it time. You'll come around. What's your name, anyway?"
The wolf-boy settled himself on the hearth with his back to the fire, enjoying its heat after his long, cold walk. "It's William."
"William? I like it. You can call me Vinny."
Jekyll gave a polite cough. "While we're on the subject of introductions…"
He stared pointedly in the direction of Frankenstein and his friend. The doctor stared back at him blankly for a moment before catching on.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "My God! I've been so rude! This is my wife, Beth. Forgive me for forgetting, sweetheart."
The woman, Beth, lifted her head and at once rewarded Frankenstein with a radiant smile.
"It's all right, darling. It's a pleasure to meet all of you gentlemen."
Unwilling to meet William's eyes in his semi-nude state and unable to see Vinny at all, she settled for addressing Jekyll alone as she spoke. Jekyll was appalled to feel heat rising in his face. For God's sake, he was over a century old! He wouldn't forgive himself for letting a pretty face make him bashful like some lascivious sixteen-year-old!
"The pleasure is ours, madam," Jekyll replied with as much English dignity as he could muster.
"Wait, you're married?" Vinny asked, his tone incredulous. "How does that work?"
Frankenstein frowned, "Well, usually it follows an engagement period. Then there's a sort of ceremony with cake and dancing. A license is signed. And afterward a couple is said to be wed."
Jekyll was impressed by the amount of sarcasm the doctor was able to pour into his words, but Vinny remained undaunted.
"What I mean is, you're like, incredibly old, right? And c'mon. She's got to be… What? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? And she's okay with you being Frankenstein and all?"
"I've always known my Victor's true identity." Beth said at once. Jekyll was immediately in awe of her poise. "His age is of no importance to me. I love him as I will always love him."
Frankenstein beamed at her, clearly pleased with this response. Though when William chimed in with, "Okay, so how did you guys meet?" his expression clouded.
"Let's not discuss that at the moment, shall we?" he interrupted. "I'm more interested to learn about… Vinny, was it? How did you come to be here?"
"Already told you that, didn't I? Walked up with Will. Slipped inside so that no one would notice me."
"No, that's not what I meant. You already heard that William and I were drawn here by an invitation. Is it safe to assume you were brought here by the same trick?"
"Uh… Not exactly. You see, I didn't get any invitation."
"None whatsoever?" Jekyll asked, thinking suddenly of the crumpled map he had found in his pocket. Why had Hyde sent him here, anyway?
"No. It was more of a brochure."
"Brochure?" asked Frankenstein, Jekyll, and William at the same time. Beth looked politely interested.
"Yeah, you know. One of those pamphlets you get sometimes, advertising tropical destinations or historical towns. Mine said, 'all expenses paid, one-night stay with Dracula!' Naturally, I couldn't resist. I mean, Dracula, right? How cool is that?"
A heavy silence fell over the room as each man was left without a clue as to how to respond to this asinine statement. Thankfully, they were saved from having to say anything by the reappearance of Dracula, who had caught the tail end of the conversation.
"Are you a complete idiot?" he asked with withering disdain. Jekyll assumed he was speaking to Vinny, but without being able to direct his stare to any specific body, Dracula might as well have been addressing everyone in the room.
"Oh, I don't think so," Vinny said cheerfully, "After all, so far I'm the only one who was given what was promised him. That's more than can be said for Will and Frankie, amiright?"
"You aren't staying," Dracula said with simple conviction. He dropped an outfit of clothes on the floor with complete carelessness. A moment later, the same clothes were lifted again by an invisible source, and the location of Vinny was finally known. Jekyll thought there was something deeply disturbing about seeing the clothing filled out and resting as if on a body, but without a body present to fit the clothes. The cuffs of the long-sleeved shirt rolled themselves up, and the dark pants were given similar treatment. Apparently, Vinny was a much smaller man than Dracula, though he offered no complaints about his new wardrobe.
Jekyll was thankfully distracted from observing the bizarre sight any further when Dracula shoved another wad of clothing into his chest. He was actually grateful to the vampire for heeding his request in spite of his obvious displeasure, but he suspected that Dracula didn't want to make a spectacle of this seemingly kind gesture.
Still very much aware of Beth's presence, Jekyll silently excused himself to change clothes in the hall. His current outfit really was much too tight, and the material of the shirt was far too thin. It was a simple matter to tear open the front of the shirt, allowing the buttons to fly away wherever they pleased. Since Hyde was always so careless with Jekyll's things, it had become Jekyll's style to repay him in kind, destroying whatever it was Hyde left behind after his visits. Jekyll grimaced at the thought as he peeled off the pair skin-tight pants. Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing if these petty little acts had any effect on Hyde whatsoever. And unless he was sure that Hyde was as annoyed by their situation as he himself was, there could be no way for Jekyll to have satisfaction.
He was at least in a slightly better mood, dressed in the grey sweater and dark trousers provided by Dracula. The clothes were plain and comfortable, exactly to Jekyll's taste, and they fit him perfectly.
He was drawn out of his reverie by the sound of raised voices in the den. He could hear Dracula's voice clearly, bordering on a yell, "Why what?!"
"That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you!" followed Frankenstein's voice, "It's Y!"
"Why is what?! You are not making any sense!"
"No! You aren't listening! I'm trying to tell you that it's just Y!"
"What?!"
Jekyll stepped into the room hesitatingly, moving quickly to the werewolf's side. He could easily pick out Vinny's location now, of course, but he was still reluctant to be near a man whose face he couldn't see.
"What's going on?" he whispered to the boy.
William wrinkled his nose, "I'm not sure, actually. All I asked was who would go to such lengths to pull this sort of hoax on us, and then Dr. Frankenstein said something about why?"
"Well, that's just as good. I'd also like to know for what purpose we were all brought here. I mean, do you honestly think this is just a joke?"
"Well, I'm not sure. But I don't think that's what Dr. Frankenstein meant."
Meanwhile, Frankenstein and Dracula were continuing their argument, both of them becoming very red in the face. Beth looked deeply concerned, though she seemed unable to find a way to intervene between the two men.
"I think I see where the miscommunication is here," Vinny said suddenly. Jekyll watched him – or rather the clothes that encased his invisible form – as he made his way toward the battling duo. "Sorry to interrupt, gents," he said, tapping each man on the arm, "But could I venture a guess as to what's going on? I'm pretty sure Frankie here is saying that the source of our troubles lies in Y. As in the letter, not the question. Making more sense now, Drac?"
The vampire turned on his heel and stalked over to the armchair, settling himself into it before stating, "My name is Vlad. Not Drac. And the letter Y? It still does not make any sense."
"Do try to keep up, Vlad," Frankenstein said in a droll tone, "Boy – Er, I mean, William. Was there a signature at the bottom of your invitation?"
William thought before responding, "There wasn't a name."
"Are you sure?"
"Well, pretty sure. I remember wondering who would have left the letter for me, but I don't remember seeing a name."
Victor drew the folded letter from the pocket of his dress pants, smiling a little as William recognized it as his own. "I hope you don't mind, but I thought I would keep it on me in case there was some clue we would need later. And I think I was right. Do you mind taking a look at it again?"
William eyed him with suspicion, but accepted his letter. Unfolding it, he glanced over the message and said, "There's no name here. Just the letter Y."
"The letter Y." Frankenstein repeated. William nodded his assent.
"It was the same for me. I received an invitation with no signature other than that of 'Mr. Y.' I assume he sent Vinny his brochure and Dr. Jekyll…"
Frankenstein suddenly turned to Jekyll, confusion on his face, "Why exactly did you come here?"
"He had a map," Dracula said, "Someone drew him a map and told him to come here."
"Who drew it for you, Doctor?" Frankenstein asked with an edge to his voice.
Jekyll hesitated a while before letting out a deep breath. He would have to talk about his alter-ego at some point, he supposed. Really, with this crowd it was surprising that they'd waited this long before prying into his past.
"Sorry, no invite from the mysterious Y. Edward… Well, Hyde drew the map. He's always doing something stupid and inconvenient like this to me."
"But you don't know how he found out about this place? You don't know why he sent you here?"
"Well, no."
Dr. Frankenstein's next question was spoken more like a statement. "So he could have received something from Mr. Y and sent you to answer the summons?"
"I… I don't know. Maybe."
"Hyde is spelled with a Y, isn't it?" Dracula asked slowly, "Perhaps he is the one who sent you all here."
Jekyll scoffed, "You spell Jekyll with a Y, too, but no one's accusing me of being the culprit."
"Are you?" asked William.
"Of course not! I don't know who Y is, and I don't know what any of us are doing here! I'm in the same boat as all of you!"
"Well, since we seem to be getting nowhere with this discussion, I have a great idea," Dracula said in a slow, sarcastic tone, "Why don't you all get the hell out of my castle?"
"What a marvelous idea!" Jekyll snapped, "After all, we've all been so disappointed by this visit, haven't we? There really doesn't seem to be any reason to stay!"
Dracula nodded, "Exactly what I'm saying."
"Fine! Then I'll be going! Thanks for the clothes!"
Jekyll turned from the group and marched straight out the door. But Frankenstein was right behind him, Beth following his lead.
"Wait, doctor! Think about what you're doing! We have a real mystery on our hands, and I don't think we should just walk out on it!"
"What? And play right into the bastard's hands? I don't think so! Dracula is right when he says we should all just leave!"
"But what if we are here for some greater purpose? We shouldn't just walk out when we don't even know what's going on!"
"I really don't give a damn what's going on!" Jekyll shouted as he gripped the knob of the front door.
"But Mr. Y must have brought us here for more than just a joke! And if that's the case, what if he won't let us leave?"
"Don't be absurd!" Jekyll sneered, twisting the knob, "How's he going to stop us?"
"Doctor, I implore you, at least return to the den and get what we know sorted out with the others. Don't leave yet!"
"I'm not!" Jekyll shouted.
"You aren't?"
"No…" Jekyll turned to Frankenstein with a dark frown. Both of his hands were gripping the brass knob of the door so hard his knuckles had turned white. "I can't open the door."